This application incorporates by reference Taiwanese application Ser. No. 89217425, Filed Oct. 6, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a waterproof inputting equipment, and more particularly to a waterproof keyboard using a rubber sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
The advances in technology bring a great deal of convenience to people. For example, electric appliances and computer-related equipment have now played an important role in people""s daily life. A key to maintain the performance of electrical equipment is to avoid liquid sputtering and increase the water-resistant of the electrical equipment because liquid sputtering in the electrical equipment may cause the damage of the interior electrical devices, short circuit and therefore shortens its life.
Conventionally, rubber sheets are used to prevent liquid sputtering. However, the orientating holes of the conventional rubber sheets are too big so that sputtered liquid might flow into the conductive membrane underneath, which frequently results in short circuit. Moreover, the conventional water-resistant edge of the rubber sheet is in a close design. As a result, liquid at the rubber sheet can not be drained out of the keyboard and vapor tends to generate inside.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved waterproof keyboard, which makes use of a rubber sheet to tightly binds up the fixing apparatus. Consequently, the performance of the conductive membrane can be maintained. Moreover, the open design Of the water-resistant edge of the rubber sheet can successfully drain sputtered liquid out of the keyboard.
It is another object of the invention to provide a waterproof keyboard, which includes: a top cover mounted with a number of keys; a base; an orientating apparatus, a conductive membrane disposed above the base and a rubber sheet disposed above the conductive membrane. The orientating apparatus has an orientating pillar extending from the top cover and connecting with the base so that the orientating apparatus fixes the top cover and the base together. The rubber sheet has a rubber orientating hole for the orientating apparatus to penetrate through. The rubber orientating hole binds up the orientating pillar so that undesired sputtered liquid can be prevented from the conductive membrane. The orientating pillar of the orientating apparatus has a space inside and the orientating apparatus further includes a base orientating hole and a fixing device. The base orientating hole is on the base and in conjunction with the space of the orientating pillar. The base orientating hole and the space of the orientating pillar together form a continuous space and the fixing device is inserted into the continuous space so that the top cover and the base are fixed. The rubber sheet has a water-resistant edge with an opening so that liquid collected between the top cover and the rubber sheet can be led out through the opening of the water-resistant edge.
It is therefore another object of the invention to provide a water-resistant rubber sheet for using in a keyboard. The keyboard includes a top cover, a base, a conductive membrane and an orientating apparatus. The water-resistant rubber sheet includes a rubber orientating hole binding up the orientating apparatus so that undesired sputtered liquid can be prevented from penetrating the rubber sheet. The water-resistant rubber sheet can further have a water-resistant edge with an opening so that liquid collected between the top cover and the rubber sheet can be led out through the opening of the water-resistant edge. The liquid led out of the rubber sheet is then led out to a flow-collecting region of the base and flows out of the waterproof keyboard through an opening of the base.